Mixed Vegetable Kurma - Chapati Kurma, How to make mixed veg kurma

Kurma is a very popular side dish for chapathi's. I guess there are lot of variations all over India. But the South Indian style recipe uses coconut along with fennel seeds optionally including cashew or khus khus.  Here I have added a touch of pearl onion along with coconut. Personally I liked the flavor of it. You can also omit it if you don't want the flavor of the onion.

Ingredients

Onion - 1 chopped
Tomato -1 chopped
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
Green chilli -1-2
Turmeric powder -1/4 tsp
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp

Vegetables 

Carrot -1
Beans - 5-6
Potato -1
Green peas - 1/4 cup
Cauliflower florets -1/2 cup (blanched, I did not use this)
Coriander leaves - a fistful for garnishing

To grind to a paste

Grated coconut - 2-3 tbsp
Fennel seeds/sombu- 1 tsp
Pearl Onion - 1, peeled

For the seasoning

Oil - 1 tbsp
Fennel seeds/sombu - 1/2 tsp
Cloves -2
Cinnamon - 1 inch piece
Cardamom - 2

Curry leaves - few

Method

1. Soak the green peas atleast for 5-6 hours and set aside. If using fresh peas or frozen peas, soaking is not required.  Wash the vegetables, peel them and cut them into small cubes.
2. Heat oil in a pressure cooker, add the seasoning ingredients one by one and saute for few seconds. Then add the slit green chillies and the chopped onions. Saute until the onions turn transparent. Then add the ginger garlic paste and saute until the raw smell goes off. Add the chopped tomatoes, turmeric powder, coriander powder and garam masala powder. Stir until the tomatoes are half cooked.
3. Add the cubed vegetables, green peas and required amount of salt. Mix well and add approximately 1/2 cup of water. Close the lid and cook for 2 or 3 whistles.  Meanwhile grind the ingredients mentioned under "To Grind" section into a smooth paste by adding very little amount of water.
4. On the other side, once the pressure subsides open the pressure cooker and add the ground coconut paste and stir well. Add water if necessary. The kurma should not be too thick or too watery. Adjust the water as per the consistency you need. Cook on medium flame for 5 minutes, check and adjust salt. Turn off the flame and garnish with coriander leaves. Server as side dish for chapathi, poori or parotta.

Beetroot Rice

Beetroots are not only rich in color, they also contain ample amount of Vitamins A, B and C. They are also rich in proteins, carbohydrates, fiber, folic acid and certain essential minerals like manganese and potassium. Beets are said to boost the stamina and is very good for those with anemia and fatigue. A rice made out of this colorful veggie has a nice flavor and subtle sweetness, so the kids love them the most. Pairs up well with any simple raita.

Ingredients

Rice - 1 cup, cooked
Channa/Garbanzo beans - 1/4 cup
Grated beetroot - 1 cup
Onion - 1, chopped
Green chilli - 1 or 2, slit lengthwise
Mint leaves - few
Coriander leaves - a fistful, chopped
Sambar powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Salt as per taste

To Temper

Oil - 2 tsp
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - few

Pre-preparation

Cook the rice, allow to cool and set aside. Soak the channa overnight and cook them until soft. Clean the beets, peel and grate them. Set aside. Chop the onions, green chilli and coriander leaves.

Method

Heat oil in a pan. Add the mustard seeds and once they splutters add the cumin seeds and curry leaves. Then add the green chillies and do a couple of sauteing. Then add the onions and saute until they turn transparent.

Then add the grated beetroot, mint leaves, coriander leaves, sambar powder, required salt and saute for couple of minutes. Then sprinkle some water, stir and cover with a lid. Cook until the beetroot is well cooked. Stir in-between.

Once the beets are cooked well add the cooked channa and the garam masala powder. Stir well and add the cooked rice. Carefully mix the rice with the beetroot. Check for salt and add more if required. Serve with any raita of your choice.

Curry Leaves Thokku - Kariveppilai Thokku

In India we don't have to buy curry leaves. We used to get them as compliment when we buy vegetables from the vegetable shops. They are one of the essential ingredients in South Indian cooking, especially for tempering. They are high in Vitamin A, good for the digestive system, controls hair loss etc. etc. But most of the times we just corner them rather than consuming. Few days back when I had a whole bunch of curry leaves in hand I thought of making thokku out of it, just to replace pickles for VJ's lunch box. And it tasted just awesome with curd rice. And here is the recipe.

Ingredients

Curry leaves - 1 cup, tightly packed
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp, adjust as per taste
Tamarind - small gooseberry sized ball, soaked and extracted
Fenugreek powder - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Salt and hing - as needed

Method

Dry roast the fenugreek/methi seeds, allow to cool and powder it. You can also do it in large quantity and store for using in pickles and thokku.

Wash the curry leaves well and grind it to a smooth paste adding little water if necessary.

Heat oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds. When the mustards splutter add a dash of hing and then add the ground curry leaves paste. Cook for few minutes, stirring occasionally.

Then add the tamarind extract, salt and chilli powder.  Cook until the raw smell goes off and the oil starts leaving the sides. Finally add a tsp of fenugreek powder, mix it well and switch off the flame.

Allow to cool down and transfer to an airtight container or bottle. Can be refrigerated and used. Also it stays fresh upto a week in room temperature if handled carefully. I would say curd rice is the best combination. But, can also be consumed along with idly, dosa or chapati. You can also mix this with plain rice along with a tsp of sesame oil. Tastes too good.

Easy Bread-Jam Pinwheels

Kids love the combination of bread and jam. The usual bread-jam sandwich can be made attractive with these bite sized pinwheels. It would just take less than 10 minutes to prepare this. Today was the "Pot Lunch" day  at Prajwal's school. Kids has to help mom in preparing their snacks and they need to share it with their friends. So I made this pinwheels and my lil one helped me in rolling them. I made it with butter and jam combination. You can also use mayonnaise or any cheese spread or any green chutney as a variation. You can also make this a day before and refrigerate. Here I did not refrigerate, so I couldn't get perfect shaped ones. But don't worry about that, they will taste good anyways :-)

Ingredients

Bread slices
Butter
Fruit Jam

Method

Trim the sides of the bread slices and on a rolling board, place the slices and roll on them real hard. You will find that bread will become like a sheet.

Spread the butter on the top. Place another slice of bread above the butter spread bread. Roll with the rolling pin to make it flat. Now spread the jam.  Then from one side, roll inward very tightly to join the other side. You will get a long roll. Cut into smaller pieces.

If you are making this way ahead, refrigerate after rolling them. Do not cut them into small pinwheels. Refrigerate and take them out when you need to serve them. Then cut them into smaller pieces and serve.

Rose Milk Popsicles/ரோஸ்மில்க் குச்சி ஐஸ்

I had already posted the Rose Milk recipe a week back. I also wanted to make it as a popsicle and post it here. Rose milk popsicle or rose kuchi ice would have been almost everyone's favorite during the school going days. We used to run behind the ice cream man for this. But now being adopted to suit the new life style changes and for health reasons we would never dare to buy ice creams from the road side ice cream man for our kids. The best way to relish those old memories while treating our taste buds is to make them in our very own kitchen. And here is the recipe...

Ingredients

Milk - 1 cup
Rose syrup - 5 or 6 drops, adjust as per the color you prefer
Rose essence - couple of drops
Sugar - 3 tsp approximately, adjust as per taste

Method

Add all the ingredients together in a wide bowl. Stir well so that the sugar dissolves completely. You can also blend them all for few seconds.

Pour this into the popsicle or kulfi moulds. Let it sit in the freezer for atleast 10 hrs. When you take them out from the freezer run some cold water over the moulds and the popsicles can be easily taken out now. The cool kuchi ice is ready to be relished now :-)

Note

• If you don't have popsicle mould, then you can do it in tumblers.
• Adjust the rose syrup and sugar according to ur sweet preference. But make sure the rosemilk is bit sweeter than you drink.

Colorful Dosas For Kids

Kids usually love the food on their plate to be colorful and attractive. Even a regular dish presented in an attractive way will make them finish their plates in minutes. I tried this color dosas for todays evening snack. All you need is some coriander leaves, a tomato and few ladles of dosa batter. You can also use boiled carrots or beetroots for a nice orange and purple color dosa. Make it much more attractive by serving them in different shapes.

Ingredients

Dosa batter - 2 big laddles
Coriander leaves - a fistful
Tomato - 1, small
Oil - few drops for making dosas

Method

Take a ladle of dosa batter in a mixer and grind it along with coriander leaves. Check for salt and add more if required. Heat the dosa pan and prepare green dosas.

Similarly, take a ladle of dosa batter and tomato in the mixer and grind well. Check salt and prepare orange dosas.

You can prepare mini sponge dosas or make them in the size your kid would love. Goes well with regular coconut chutney or with any tangy chutneys.

Rose Milk

Rose milk is a perfect drink to relieve and refresh us on any sunny day. Anyone would love this milk for its heavenly taste, smell and its pleasant looking color. I usually make my rose milk with just milk, sugar and the rose syrup. But if you want yours as milkshake you can definitely go ahead and use couple of scoops of vanilla ice cream or heavy cream and adjust the sugar accordingly.

Ingredients

Milk - 1 cup
Rose syrup - 5 or 6 drops, adjust as per the color you prefer
Rose essence - couple of drops
Sugar - 3 tsp approximately, adjust as per taste

Method

Add all the ingredients together in a wide bowl. Stir well so that the sugar dissolves completely. You can also blend them all for few seconds. Refrigerate and serve chilled.

Note

** Do not add ice as this will dilute the drink and will not taste good.
** Rose essence is completely optional, it enhances the flavor of the drink. You can just go with few drops of rose syrup alone.